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Tuesday, 28 January 2014

Team Write This Run: Shuffle Slut

Just two miles into this weekend's 9-miler, some guy started screaming in my ears...

"SLUT"...*CRASH*..."SLUT"...*CRASH*..."SLUT"!

This noise coming from my earbuds had somehow made it onto my iTunes library, never to be heard until the moment I was after a motivational track...this was not it! When I'm running I want to be told I'm a hero, not a woman who offers herself around a bit! A couple more kilometres of shuffling, though, Seasick Steve and I were jamming at the same pace – he kept me going past my bail-out point and straight up a hill.

I need tracks that will serenade me up hills

Having music that I actually enjoy (that doesn't scream profanities at me) and has a similar plod to my legs makes the time go quicker and the task at hand (i.e. mileage) much easier. So with Reading half marathon with Team Write This Run just a few weeks away, it's probably time to stop shuffling songs and put together a proper playlist. Or suffer two plus hours of random music that insults me, slows me down to nap speed or makes me sprint until I crash!

But is there a strategy to building a race playlist or do I just fill it with all my favourite tracks? Should they have the same BPM to match my target pace or should they have different rhythms to keep me interested? Is there a certain point (predicted mileage) at which I should put my 'Power Song'? What even should be my power song?!

I guess, training runs aren't just to test my legs, I'm going to have to train my compilation building skills, too.